One Last HurRAAh... A Milan Interactive AAR

[Beamed]

I actually thought of getting 1404... I enjoyed the snot out of 1701. 1602 was silliness in a bag. Although you may be using that as an excuse for the "chill out"...

Eh, it's pretty good. Better than the older ones, but not quite over the whole 'repetitive start' that plagued its predescessors. Worth getting, anyway.

But, yes. I did only introduce it for chill out.

 

[unmerged(69928)]

Chapter 37: The Winds of Change...???​

It's an unprecedented time for our "tiny" nation...

From the humble beginnings of a handful of provinces, for a guy with an extra finger or two, we have flourished into a rich Mediterranean Empire, stretching from the Straights of Gibraltar to those near Thrace.

The times are unsettled. Unprecedented religious movements are sweeping Europe, even among our own lands. News travels that even more changes are coming, and nations we thought we once knew are suddenly strangers of another color on the map that is our world.

Here in our own land, we make changes of our own. The first of which centers around our Government structure. As Milan has spread out, it has become paramount to keep nation fixed on a central point, a central theme. The Secret Order of the Knights of Milan work tirelessly to move the country behind the scenes, forming a central core around which the various arms of Milanese Government can work.

As we further centralize the inner workings of our nation, there are those that think they know better. There are those that stand opposed to our actions. It's only a matter of time before they voice their opinion...:

Of course this kind of behavior, especially where other nations are concerned, tends to incur a bit of a reputation. Though our ruler works at reducing it, and our special Diplomatic Advisor runs to and fro on many missions to smooth over relations, we still have many that think us brutish.

They see us as the bully, as the ruffian. Even though the Pope himself has given us his blessing... Well... Let's just say we "procured" it, shall we...??? Even so, the Pope can't be wrong. Even he helps us to shed those unwanted pounds of Bad Boy.

As it stands, currently our reputation is considered "tarnished"...

However "bad" we are perceived to be now, it is sure to get worse. As you can see in the background, our next opportunity, proudly displayed for all to see awaits us.

With it we will write the last chapter in the Greek book, aside from some building projects to boost the economy a bit.

I figure while we're here, we can take advantage of the time to see if we can "create" the opportunity now...

The cost is a minor hit to our nation's stability, and a few extra badboy points for being so underhanded...But the end result is just what we needed. We would incur the reputation in any case, but the stability savings allow us to carry out or next change without delays...

In aligning our Government to be more in tune with out economy, we will be better prepared to deal with the upcoming market turbulence. Yes... There will be market issues if the Secret Order is able to follow through with it's plans for using Religion as a focal point within the Empire...

The Action in Morea is quick and decisive. The 3rd Navy, a 17 ship Carrack squadron is called into the Ionian Sea to dispatch the minor galley fleet and blockade as necessary.

INFantry units are pulled from nearby Naxos and Janina, with CAValry support aiding from Macedonia.

On January 8th, we received word from Guyenne, again asking for Military Access through our lands. As previously decided, I give it, along with a little gift to help them along. I also take this time to turn Sardinia free to do whatever. They are useless as a vassal, and income is the one thing I don't have a need for right at the moment.

To the North, I find I have some house cleaning to do...

I have an INF garrison of 4K and a 13K CAV patrol unit on the way, as well as the 6/8/0 Army in the picture. In addition, I have 10K more INF on the build. Though they will come in handy for this affair, they are really being built to cover provinces with religious issues...

With Rebels already pounding the provinces of Roma and Gafsa, Nationalist parties in Zeta decide now would be a good time to throw their lives into the pool too. I have a 4K INF GuarD unit there already, as I was expecting Rebs in that area. Their 2K half hearted attempt at self liberation fails miserably... While I lose a mere 44 men.

The Rebs in Gafsa fare a bit better. their 1/2/0 army is a bit harder to handle with the 4K INF stacks in the area. The closest CAV unit is a ways a way, and I don't send for it. I have three 4K INF GuarD units there, and I just box them in till they die.

Advisors are starting to die all over the place, and I fear Milan will be no exception in the near future. Though we hadn't actively pursued anyone, I know we need to start looking.

We'd be looking for a Diplomat or related in this scenario usually, but sometimes a guy shows up that doesn't exactly fit, but he's worth altering the plan a little for. On February 1st, one of them showed up at the palace, and I just had to fit him in...

We say goodbye to our 4 star Alderman, whom we only took as a placeholder anyways. While we're already ahead in Land Tech, the price can't be beat for the return on investment. In his first month he pays for himself... And besides, you can never be too far ahead in Land Tech.

During this time, Morea asked for a white peace. I won't insult your intelligence with stating my answer...

It takes awhile to get everybody over to the Austrian Battle Ground, so the Habs take the initiative and start a siege in Salzburg. They also start making men like crazy. For a tiny little country, they have deep pockets.

The 1st BATtalion from Görz arrives in Lienz and prepares to rout the besieging Austrians. They will wait a bit for attrition and moral to wear down. No sense sending men to die when a month or two can save so many of them.

To the south, Morea sends a few thousand men into Achea to siege. By mid February however, my forces have arrived... The combined 8K INF make short work of the siegers while only losing 194 men. They continue from there right on through to Morea proper.

In Gabes, my 4K INF punt the Rebs into Tunis. I have Gafsa covered by INF, and Tunis has a force. Tripolitania is empty, but to retreat intelligently is beyond the Rebels capabilities... Can't pull it off with this equipment is the cry as the Rebs run for border...

The "force" at Morea is wiped out, with another 12 men losing their electronic lives. Another set of letters the commanding officer has to write. The Morean "Navy" is equally dispatched.

As I prepare to move on the enemy in Salzburg, Austria begins to make it a little interesting...:

My forces are not like Visa for this war. They are not "everywhere you want to be". Instead, they are everywhere else. It is only now, two months in that I am ready to engage the enemy, and even now, with Austria building like mad I am still out gunned in theater.

That's OK with me...

As my first wave of reinforcements pops, Austria heads into Görz and I head into Salzburg. I also finally arrive in Roma to engage the Rebels there. The battle is a success, and the Rebs are no more. Probably the best thing about peasant Rebs is that they disperse once the battle is done. It only costs me 1% of my manpower...

I send the 1st BAT back into Görz and push the invaders out. It's a priority... The shot of cash to Austria from looting had to be a pretty good one. From there, the BAT turns into Krain and eliminates the siege there. After a month of fighting, the battle for Salzburg is finally over...:

It's a resounding victory for Milan, and is the war in a nutshell for Austria. Though they continue to build units and to scrap, they end up overwhelmed and besieged from all sides.

The first step comes with the elimination of the 3K forces in Karnten by the 1st BAT. They also take out the new unit that pops beneath them before they move onto Lienz to break the siege there.

The 4th CAV out of Province wipes a pop up in Steiermark before again defeating the main Austrian army.

As we fight, word reaches us of the nation of Aragon collapsing, and the Jalayirids joining the Swedish Bankruptcy of the month club. And yes, it's true, Sweden hasn't gone bankrupt yet...

I continue to float in the south, taking out armies as they pop as the INF units approach. The 4th CAV pursues the main Austrian Army, meeting it again in Wien, where they are victorious.

Realizing I had mentioned them, Sweden steps up and celebrates by, you guessed it...:

Ahhh. Feels like home, doesn't it...?

We continue to pummel the Austrians, with Linz falling the second week of June thanks to the Swiss.

As I was playing, I was thinking about REFormed. When it would appear, where it would appear. I was wondering if it would be close or far, or if we'd be lucky enough to get it. Well we weren't. But I did take where it popped as a good sign...:

OK, it's not our province. Yet... But it is right next door to us. Having Castille pop the PROformation and Aragon pop the REFormation... That's odd. It does mean one thing though, REFormed popped closer than PRO. I stopped for a minute and thought about it, and then decided to let it ride a bit and see how quickly it would spread to me, if at all.

Back on the war front, there isn't much to tell other than battle, white peace offer, siege... I did assault the fort in Morea. It fell on June 13th, 1528. At the time I had 14.94 BB...Within 24 hours the province was ours...:

One official objective down. Back up north, the last battles were being fought. Sieges were about to begin in earnest as 4 separate INF stacks were walking into their respective target areas.

The war for Morea had been a pricey one BB wise, leaving us with 18.43 of reputation to burn off after all was said and done. Knowing I would be up there a bit afterwards, I had taken a lackadaisical approach to Austria, not really trying to end it quickly. I wanted to have a little burn off time to help moderate the effects a little. If we don't, annexing Naples will be alot tougher, and we'll have fewer options should an opportunity present itself.

As I thought about options, I looked over into the land of the Ott just to see what was cooking there...:

Blinded by TI, We have little idea where everything is. Numbers wise it didn't look too bad, but there were better, and less dangerous opportunities around.

I checked into Dulkadir too, which added Persia and a few others to the mix, so that was out. Persia is a player, sporting decent troops and serious sand traps to fight in. As it was, even the thought of fighting the Mams in attrition heaven wasn't very appealing, though it was an inevitable conflict.

The people occupying the sandy areas saw what I was doing and started rebelling to let me know what they thought of it... They were put down as fast as they popped up for the most part.

BY July, we had our first stability level back, which helped with the Rebel problems a bit.

As we continued in the Austrian provinces, another province fell to the foul clutches of the PRO movement...:

I remember thinking to myself that it just didn't seem like the game wanted us to go REFormed. We had three different parts of the Empire with solid PRO foundations, and they were spreading... I decided to see if I couldn't sway a few provinces and see if I couldn't encourage a little REFormed action. I started small, sending missionaries to Province and Schwaben.

August saw our first election as an ADM REP, and I chose the Diplo Candidate both for any help in BB reduction I could get, and in preparation for work on Naples. Our guy popped as ADM 8, MIL 3 and DIP 7. He'd have to do... We did gain a tenth on the BB recovery, but his general stats were abysmal.

We are going to make a National Holiday for August 26th...:

Thank God for small favors... And Denmark looks like it may start a run to expand a bit. It definitely has some clout to back itself up now. We celebrate with an excellent vintage, a wine especially crafted and dedicated to all that was Sweden. We will miss you, blue wonder...

Steiermark falls to Milanese hands in October, followed in November by Slavonia. I celebrate by sending another gift to Guyenne... Poland celebrates by bribing a cardinal. Another reason to keep BB down. I try to bribe a few back, but my current BB heights have my % below 20... I really don't want to lose that 0.25 reduction.

Patriot Rebs pop in Sirt... Their 2K number is eradicated in less than three days by the 8K INF there. I lose 216 men... Over in Tunisia, the Rebs I sent them become regulars as they collapse. Rebs celebrate becoming legit by rebelling in Kabylia, a province and a half away.

I get Ostmarch from Austria for Christmas, followed by my final stability level for the New Year. A few Rebs fall, a few guys fall, Karnten falls, the stubborn last bit of Austrian army falls, but runs into Poland and hides... Finally Wien falls, and the Austrian offensive is complete.

The Jalayirids celebrate by playing Sweden.

On May 1st, I make the peace pitch...:

For once I hit a country that aint broke... I get my province, which will get my core from the mission and I get a nice boost in revenue, which I can use to build a manufactory in a Greek province just for giggles. It isn't tax income, but it's money none the less...

Our next mission is to improve relations with Bohemia. Hate to disagree, but no, it's not. We cancel it. It's a stupid mission. We're already -200 relations and falling, if we could go any lower...

Instead we get the improve defenses mission in Oberpfalz. Can do. We're still Fort Two-ing as we go, so it fits right in.

Würzburg decides it wants to be Sweden too. Too bad Sweden aren't around to see all their new fans...

As we wrap up the war, we end up with a stout 17.75 BB to kill off. Not as bad as it could have been, and we have a decent burn rate. I'm confident at this time we have room to go somewhere uninvited and make a ruckus.

Almost as if reading my mind, Karamon pops a rebellion. The 2/3/0 army gets vaporized by the 6th CAV out of Smyrna. The next month it's Sivas, where Turkish Patriots get smacked around before doing their best dead impression.

I decide to build a Refinery in Cyprus. It's got decant tax and growth, plus a good wine production income.

Naval Tech advances to level 15, and the HRE stays with Mecklenburg. We celebrate by popping Land Tech 19, unassisted by budget input... If I had the room, I'd have hired the 3 star Treasurer. 15d into PROD Tech would be enough to keep it moving with minimal input.

I set out to convert all of the Greek provinces to Catholic, just to help boost whatever I can. Achea becomes the first of the new batch to jump.

It's then I notice my truce with all of the North African nations are ending... As I contemplate a move, a general dies on me. A sure sign we need to go to war now...

I have also been popping merchants into CoTs to compete out anyone I can. I can keep them better now, but occasionally I lose a monopoly for pushing. Bithynia is the latest to get hit.

Naxos converts to Catholic as the year wears on. Under Sunni, she pushed 3.3d tax and 10.47d Production, for a total of 13.77. After conversion, she pushes 5.3 in taxes and 10.69d, for a total of 15.99. This is a relatively small province...

Our mission completes and we gain 5 Army Tradition. We get a carbon copy for Ceuta, which we're all too happy to oblige.

After some minor Pirate and Reb action, we lose the Papal controller position to Brabant. We attempt some bribes, but at 20% the chances are slim. We are unsuccessful in our attempt to steal the Curia back.

A huge revolt in Palermo provides minutes of excitement as I have to ship an Army in. Yes, I used the navy. I was able to go get an army from the other side of them empire and deliver it in half the time it took the Army in Pisa to walk there, with a +2 Maneuver General...

I don't usually get this event very often...:

To get it twice, and for the same province is excellent. It's now a base tax 6, which enables the land decision for another 10%. Nice for a piece of sand that was basically worthless before...

So about this time I'm getting itchy. Hungary collapsed, forts got built, Rebs got put down. I am waiting ever so impatiently for some kind of movement on the religious front. I get some in April of 1531 with Province returning to Catholic status.

It's then that I get a pop up that says Great Britain has claimed defender of the faith. Guess which one... REFormed. They have one province that is REFormed, and they jumped it. Given their colonial empire, I can understand it. But it does serve to spur me on. She'll be busy for awhile, having two PRO and the rest Catholic on the mainland.

We complete our mission on Ceuta, gaining our pittance. I am getting a little down. Most games the religious conversions are fast and furious. You can't close the windows fast enough. I keep looking for something to grab a hold of either way...

Our next mission gives us something to consider...:

Here lies a turning point. God himself telling us to convert a PROtestant province... We can't argue with God, can we...? Well we can, but he always wins... Or strikes you with lightning or something. Either way I'm not arguing with God. He says no PRO, so I'm saying no to PRO.

From here on out, we shall reject the PROtestant invasion. The die is cast, the machine is set into motion. Let no one henceforth speak of returning to that which the Lord God himself hath commanded us to convert Karnten from.

Palermo celebrates by blowing up again with another 3/6/1 Rebellion.

OK, so maybe I read alot into that. But come on, it was God who told us to remove the PROtestant influences from Karnten. It's not like the homeless guy on the street told you to do it. Or the guy with the big signboards on that says "The End is Here".

I decide to ask God for a sign of our own. Well, OK, another sign. You have to be careful when you ask for more than one. You might end up getting your head cut off by a girl...

As it turns out God is kind and we don't have to wait long...:

Confirmation the call is a good one. Now I just need to work a little magic and we'll be all set... Oops. did I say that...? Um... All we need to do is pray alot and we'll be all set... Yeah. No lightning... Good deal...

Our Trade Tech jumps to 17 shortly after this, and the heretics of Morea see the soon to be extinguished light of Catholicism.

After some months of rebel activities, I get a CB on Naples of all people... It appears she no longer likes the yoke that I've placed upon her. This will not stand. I've been good to you. Kinda. As Corfu converts to the Catholic ways, I spiff Naples with gift and begin my annexing in earnest. If she wants to play hard to get, I'll make sure it's the "get" part that ends up being the only part that matters...

May of 1552: Naples declines to be our kind of purple(ish).

The Counter Reformation is finally announced in Kilia, Poland in July of that year. Alot of takers right off the rip. Alot of abstainers too. Religious wars look like the rule of the day soon...

As I play through, I ponder again the religious choices we have ahead of us. I think "maybe we can stay Catholic like our Milanese roots..." I think "maybe PRO is the way to go..." I begin to have doubts, and wonder if REFormed really is the right choice.

When election time comes I choose the Diplo guy in my never ending quest for a better DIP leader...:

If this isn't a sign I don't know what is...

The only problem is...

A sign of what...?

I think it's a sign that God saw my doubting of REFormed, and is warning me to stay away from thoughts of Cathy or PRO...

In any event, that's scary stuff right there, and you are rest assured he'll be fired at the first available opportunity.

I'd try to kill him in battle, but he wouldn't die. He'd just enjoy it and get all my men dead and stuff.

Till next time...

T

 

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Eh, it's pretty good. Better than the older ones, but not quite over the whole 'repetitive start' that plagued its predescessors. Worth getting, anyway.

But, yes. I did only introduce it for chill out.

That was one of the draw backs of 1701. That race to find that one good island, and it was always the same. I'll store that away for future reference, as it'll be in a bargain bin somewhere someday...

It's too cold outside to chill out. I think I'll wait till April... Or May even...

T

 

[Enewald]

I say conquer Aragon, go for the idea that gives free CB against all heretics, change religion and conquer everyone = profit.

 

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I say conquer Aragon, go for the idea that gives free CB against all heretics, change religion and conquer everyone = profit.

Aragon will have to be conquered. It's on the Med. It's currently GTYd by Castille, Armagnac (SP?) and Great Britain. Portugal too IIRC. There's a show down coming in that part of the world, I don't now when though.

I don't want to conquer all of Europe though. I'd like to let a few blobs pop up, like there are to the North and East. Some big boys out there.

Profit... We got alot of that coming...

Back to the grind... Much to update.

T

 

[blsteen]

Nice set of wars even if the army general staff had to activate reserves to fill the gap. Adm rep as well, too bad about naples but they'll come around, one way or another!

 

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Nice set of wars even if the army general staff had to activate reserves to fill the gap. Adm rep as well, too bad about naples but they'll come around, one way or another!

Indeed they will... No one resists us for long.

And the reserves, well...
FLs are 200+ and I'm running 170K, so I have the room...
Figured I might as well use them.

And there's more to use them on...

With everyone on vacation, I'll pop the last one in while no is looking...

Update in 3...2...1...

 

[Phoenix86]

Aragon will have to be conquered. It's on the Med. It's currently GTYd by Castille, Armagnac (SP?) and Great Britain. Portugal too IIRC. There's a show down coming in that part of the world, I don't now when though.

I don't want to conquer all of Europe though. I'd like to let a few blobs pop up, like there are to the North and East. Some big boys out there.

Profit... We got alot of that coming...

Back to the grind... Much to update.

T

sounds like Milan's navy may get to run its paces against Great Britain.

and thanks for the welcome. i will always give my 2 cents; wheither or not any one lists or agrees

 

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Chapter 38: The Broken Wind Finally Brings Change...​

Yep. Here we are.

Got us a new leader... Got us a new direction.
Got us some new religious tendencies... Maybe.

Our ruler garnered a 3/2/1/1 general status.
Not exactly going to break the world with that, eh...?

We're starting to get alot of spread of discoveries now.
I can see GB has been busy on the coast...

As we play through the remainder of 1532, it seems not much is going on.
I was so intent on the REFormed actions and annexing Naples that I just didn't do much else...
Well, that and waiting for the endless parade of BB to remove itself from existence.

I have to let it go down for awhile, as I have some big plans.
And I need the curia back for the extra reduction.

The Level Two Fort building initiative is proceeding as planned.
Every year we get a few more done.
Just think, we get to do it again soon...

I keep myself sharp through practice. Things like this...:

This has been a test of the Emergency Pirate Appearance System.
If actual Pirates had appeared, you would have been given instructions on how to apply fire to the cannon fuse and blow them to kingdom come...

Naples again refuses to be annexed by the Anti-Christ...
Strike Two is recorded October 20th, 1532.

I get a Diplomatic Insult Event...
It gives me +60 relations with the planet OR a CB on Hedjaz.
But... But... I don't need a CB on Hedjaz.
I take the plus relations.
It'll give me a crack at annexing Naples again.

Ooh... Hardy Seamen.
It would be handy if this was HT³ and I needed an heir...
What's that...? Oh. Not that kind of... Oh. I see.
Yeah, OK. I can see now where that wouldn't be so... "Handy"...

Naples again refuses to be annexed by the Anti-Christ.
Strike Three is recorded the 25th of January, 1533.

See, you just thought I was sitting around doing nothing.
Somebody has to make all those gift payments to get the relations back up.

A REVOLT IN CORFU...!!! NO WAY...!!!

Well, that was fun.

A REVOLT IN CONSTANTINE...!!! NO WAY...!!!

That one was even funner...
I didn't have to move a single army.

Naples again refuses to be annexed by the Anti-Christ.
Strike Four is recorded the 9th of May, 1533.
These have all been on "Maybe" chances.
If they had been "Very Unlikely" they'd be annexed two tries back...

A great man in my employ has died. He leaves behind a chair.
That's it. Just a chair.
Must have been a pretty easy job if he didn't even need a desk.

I hire a 3 star Diplomat that I have access to for the rest of the month.
While I lost the services of the cost cutting of the Army Guy, the new guy serves to boost my BB reduction a tad...

Speaking of BB... It's at 12.93.
I had to do that, sorry.
Why? Well because it rhymed.
You can't pass up a chance to rhyme.
It's like, against the Rap Laws or something.

A REVOLT IN CROATIA...!!! NO WAY...!!!

Again, much fun to be had as I do nothing because troops are already there...

The Papal State becomes the Papal controller...
This HAS to make him happy.
Now he can finally go to the bathroom when HE wants to go...

Hey, some good news...!

I'll be the first to admit the dispersal pattern is a little odd, but I'll take it.

Just like Emperor Palpatine, the Anti-Christ proves who you are can make a difference...
Especially when it comes into scaring the you know what out of people to get them to do something...:

Mission accomplished. One of them anyways.
Now to work on a very uncooperative Hesse to see if I can make an ally out of her.

There's definitely something in the water in Hungary...
Serbia pops as an independent between Bosnia and Bulgaria.
The whole area is rife with OPMs and TPMs...
It's nice to know this isn't one of my "must take" areas...
The BB would kill me.

Another province goes PROtestant... This time it's Niederbayern.
That makes almost all the Bavarian culture provinces heretical.
I feel compelled to act and do something...

November arrives with Production Tech hitting level 17.
We celebrate by letting an advisor die.
And by finding out where all those nice Islands are in the Caribbean.
If only The Azores would core...

The advisor we lose is our good Diplomat.
I have to replace him with our old standby, the Alderman.
I hope he gets paid mileage...
No wait, no I don't.
I don't want to pay him mileage.
Do you?

That gives us a rather weak Advisor core...:

We'll have to address that.
We should start seeing a few new guys for all the ones that are dying off...
Key word: Should. We did just go through a rash of them...

This leaves us at 16.35 BB, with only a 0.90 (0.70) actual removal rate.
That just won't do...

Just for giggles I checked the stats.
We're pulling 313.4d in income.
Our nearest competitor ??? Great Britain at 87.7...

A quick check of the Army stats reveals no one on the first page of the ledger for the impending war.

War ??? What war ??? Why did no one tell me of this war ???
Because it's a (not so) secret war.
Besides, you know what war. And why we were waiting to fight it.
Now that the other thing is done, we can go to war again.

So, what war ??? The Otts ??? The Mams ???
Super Mother In Law Sword Saber Battle ???

No, just the one to finish reclaiming the North African Coast...
Among other things.

We currently sport 167,000 in the field. We have plenty of men on the West side.
It'll take some doing to get the men I need on the East side where I need them...
But now that Naples is annexed it's time to move on...

I DoW Algiers, knowing she's allied by the two other coastal nations.
And also with the knowledge she's guaranteed by Six others...:

I chose Algiers because she was the only one that didn't include Persia in the mix.
I had hoped to get the Otts on board too, but they would have none of it.
My lone ally this time around is little Cleves.
Switzerland changed religions and lost a heap of relations and canceled our alliance.
Or it got canceled when they changed. For whatever reason, I am basically on my own.
Not that that's a bad thing...

It's also nice that the Mams end up as war leader. It's perfect for us.
We can graze the "countries-side" at our leisure and make peace as we go.
That will leave the venerable Mams, and Alexandria our prize, on the hook till the end with no help...

I'll forgo the usual battle mania this go around because there simply wasn't any.
The whole campaign was basically a long, tedious attrition fest.

Instead, a small breakdown of "battle" per country...

Algiers: Spanked off the rip.
Tunisia: Made an effort, got slammed and taken.
Tripoli: Didn't even have an army.
Dulkadir: Made a move, got dead and sieged.
Syria: Went nuts making men. Made a few moves and got dead.
Once the sieges were in place, must have been ten units insta-cleared as they popped underneath the 4K INF units.
At least they wanted a fight.
Iraq: One and done, couple pops cleared.
Yeman: Small army manhandled by 4K units, all provinces fall within months. Took longer to get there.
Oman: Feisty but no match even for the few 4K units that made it that far.

No large armies ever moved further south than Sinai. The attrition was horrid.

Attrition for even the 4K units was 2% minimum every month, with 4% and 5% seen routinely.
Any time two units moved in the same province, 7% and up.
Units were slow in the sand.
I resorted at one point to a 4K CAV unit to do the moving as it could actually get through a province without losing men...

While all this was going on, The Palatinate broke out from under the bondage of Castille.
Sometimes denying Access for 20 years pays off...

On February 1st, Bursa pops for REFormed...
While Konstanz pops for PROtestant...

In March, I get a 4 star Diplomat.
He's hired right away to force the Alderman back into the unemployment line.
That pushes our burn rate back up to 1.3, 1.1 actual.

One thing that was kindof funny during the war was Dulkadir's 3 Galley "fleet".
I hit them with a fleet of 10 Caravels... 4 times.
They kept escaping... They must have been Pirates in disguise.

The Mams had an army...:

And man, is the date ever appropriate...

Their backup army of 6K harassed the southern tier for the whole campaign, but amounted to nothing.

It's also appropriate for the event that pops the same day...:

Given the nature of the rebellion, I have to say that it's the preferable option to a stability hit...

It just so happens I have another wave of reinforcements finishing up, as well as the armies from the Austrian conflict still hanging around.
To say that this 3K uprising isn't long for the world...
Heck, it took longer to type that.

Modena is successfully retrieved from the PRO ranks in July, just in time for the "Growing number of Heretics" event to fire.
It rocks me with 4... Count 'em four ...thousand Rebs in Aures.
Be still my heart... What will I ever do against such devastating forces ???

Just so happens my 13K CAV is sitting there.
Do I really need to go on ???

On August 10th, the end of religious turmoil fires...
I can gain one stability, and I hang on to it until it self expires.
It basically sits at the bottom of the screen.
It eventually disappears, Milan not having needed it.

With the Annex and the DoW, our current BB now sits at 16.59...
I pursue the annex of Algiers to see what it will cost me. A flat 2.0.
Given where I am, I decide I'll peace out the other two instead of annexing them, hoping for a core event to pop.
And giving me another excuse to get at whatever allies they pull in after this is over.

As August winds to a close, Görz flips to PROtetsant.
This is the breaking point for me.
I can't let the PRO provinces stay any more.
I have to limit the exposure as much as I can, and that means flipping any PRO provinces back to Catholic.

The only problem is the income loss is compounded by the missionary costs and by increasing WE from attrition in the sand.
It's fun fighting over here...

We pop Government 20 for constables, which are sweet buildings indeed.
I decide I'll place courthouses and constables in all Greek provinces first, and limit other placements to low end culture.
Though at this point I am past hope that Greek will make it.
I will give it the old college try though.

While we're on the subject of Greek finances, the Refinery in Cyprus finishes.
The boost to Production is very nice...

As we round out the year, we finally recapture Papal Controller.
Just in time I'm thinking. I can use all the help I can get.

The honor of the first constable goes to Cyprus, though without a core it will do little.
I really have to struggle to hold back throwing these in every province immediately.
They would rocket our income big time...

By the end of the year, we're a third of the way to our goal in the current war, with Alexandria, Asyut and the Nile all falling in December.
Days later, it's Cairo as the Mams lose all but two of their money provinces.
Delta falls a week later, with Sinai falling on the 13th.

The Mams celebrate being beaten with Rebels.
Provinces around the nation join in...
Why not they say... Everybody doing the rebellion...!
Delta, Libya, Aleppo and Konstanz all join in the fun.

In February, again, I get another one of "those" advisors.
The kind you make room for even though they don't quite fit.
If not, the AI get them. No sense letting them catch up to you...:

I pull the trigger and make some room. Sorry 3 star Diplomat. I have too. He's just that good...

We pull another Hardly See Men event, followed by a another event...:

The other choice doesn't cost anything, but it's a 30% chance you lose a stability level and a 60% you lose a BB point.
The other 10% is a miracle...
As it turns out, the 1 BB we lose is worth the cost of the choice, leaving us at a better 16.88...

Later in the Month, Aleppo goes REFormed and Diamentia falls.
All that's left war wise with the Mams is all the nasty stuff south.
I have to have it though. Without it I can't get Alexandria with anything else.
I'd ideally like to get the coast done, which I can just eek out with a 100% WS.

Dalmatia becomes REFormed in March, further cementing the position we'd like to take.
I feel I have enough to swap now, but I want to wait until the stint is over to make sure it's where we're going to go first.

Hey, quality wool. Thanks for the ducats.

We pull Franken back from the PRO crowd, making the northern stronghold a little less formidable.

Other than sieges, and more sieges...
We bribe all the cardinals and actually pull two...!
It gives us four that we control, so maybe we can hang on for awhile...

As we continue south, we get the heretics in Avignon recommitted to the soon to be extinct Catholic ways.
At this point, I believe we now have more REFormed provinces than PROtestant...

After hearing this, and just to rub it in, Krain becomes PRO...

Almost all the sieges are done in Mam land.
Iraq is done, Dulkadir is done. Syria is done.
Tripoli and Tunisia are done.

We continue to build infrastructure as we go too.
As we take the last few Mam provinces, they pretend to be Sweden and play broke.

As we work our way south through the other holy land, we get word of another religious conversion...:

We now have a committed pocket of REFormed on our western edge, a good place to branch out from.
It will also trigger a few more freebies for us too.

In August, we take Mecca, though I won't keep it. Not yet.
Shortly after, Görz returns to it's Catholic glory.
Income was cut quite a bit out of that province for awhile...

Later on in August, another election.
I had to get rid of the Anti-Christ, so I again took the Diplo choice.
The result...? Eeww.. 4/3/7 Giancarlo Borromeo.
It's a good thing you're Borrow Meo, because there's a snowball's chance in that last rulers dwelling place that I'd rent you-o...

So we check the lovely BB, and we're holding steady at 14.78.
Time to clean up some of this mess. First up on the show is Dulkadir:

The land connection is vital for any upcoming expansion Eastward, and the 25d don't hurt.
She's also surrounded, so maybe we can pull a nice core event...?

Next up on the block is Syria...:

We pull some ducats and a few less nationalist Rebels to worry about from them.

Tripoli offers us a deal of renounced claims and 7d...
It's all she has to give besides an annex, and I don't want to annex them yet.
We accept the deal.

The last two sieges in Oman territory are all that remain.
I begin to pull my men back up north to where they will end up when this is all over.
The last thing I want is a bunch of men stuck down here.
I do conveniently place some troops in two provinces...
But more on that in a minute.

While this is happening, Schwaben is returned to Catholicism, making our REFormed advantage a bit more pronounced.

We continue with the courthouse project to lower RR as much as we can, even going so far as to enact the court decision in some places.

As we dawn the new year of 1538, we reach Gov Tech level 21, enabling the Fine Arts Academy.
Won't be building many of those. At least not until HT³...
The next Gov Tech level is 12 years ahead of time, and costs 48,986 ducats...!
Needless to say we'll be laying off the Gov for awhile...
Though I can reach it by 1549, a mere 11 years away.

There has to be something in the water up this way.
There just has to be...:

OPM's of the world unite...! Naturally I GTY them.
I GTY Guyenne again just for fun too.

The last siege of enemy territory ends on October the 24th, 1538. A Sunday...

I don't want anything from Oman, so I settle for a cool 74d and pull my men out and head north.
While this is happening, I receive word Croatia as renounced their PRO ways and come back to us.

A whole lot of Rebels later, most of my men are safely away.
Time to peace out with Yemen...:

I take the province of Mocha in the deal, stationing a goodly sized force there to protect and keep it.
This is the bridge between here and East Africa, and I kept it for a number of reasons.
One, core events may fire from here, which would give me instant ship access to this side of the world.
Second, I don't want alot of travel across the straight here.
There's some nice gold provinces across the way, and I'd like to get my hands on a few of them.
I also may get some discoveries around here, and knowing where is as important as what and how many...

One beautiful thing in all this... We managed to keep WE down to 0.31...!
With a 0.06 Ruler to boot. That's darn near miraculous in itself.

After a few more rebels, Karnten lets us know that PRO is no longer the way to go...
This prompts the completion of our mission, netting us an astounding 2.00 prestige.
What will I ever do with it, I wonder...

Our next Mission...? Improve relations with Wallachia.
I don't mean to be prissy, but I don't even want to KNOW Wallachia, let alone improve anything with them.
We cancel that mission and get "Rule the Seas".
We need to have more big ships than "Known Country".
Which we all know happens to be Great Britain, which has some 20 ships on us.
No biggie. Venezia gets a round of 10 to start off with...

Oh, and we celebrate with Naval going to 16...
And with Schwyz going REFormed...
And a revolt in Bursa...

Our next contestant in the peace game is Hedjaz...:

Here again, I take Medina, hoping for a core event.
If it were to pop for Mecca, that would be super sweet...
I won't hold my breath mind you, but it's all about creating the chance.
It's also about creating opportunity... Both of these countries will want their land back.
I'll need to get into wars down this way, and if I can make them do it for me, it saves me the stability and the BB to get there...
And that 279d is a nice little bonus for the aggravation of having to flounder all over down south.

Lastly is our true goal in all of this... The lands of the Mamluks.
Or should we say the Mam-NO-luks.
The extra effort was well worth it as we pull one heck of a deal...:

Sweet mother of mercy... That's a steal right there.
And a nice tip to boot. I'd say maybe one more round with the Mams, maybe for Sinai to make southern access a little easier.
I definitely am done on the western side of the Red Sea.
That's big time garbage land there and I don't want to go near it...

As the session winds to a close, Languedoc joins the REFormed side of the equation.
We pull some more level two forts and some more courthouses.

We get a spread of discovery down in Mocha and get a glimpse of Tajura...
Occupied by Persia...? Yep. Persia... That was not expected...
Though I am very happy with the choice of keeping Mocha now.
At the very least Persia's expansion plans will be a bit harder to carry out.

On January 1st, 1540 we reach Land Tech 20.
Another few levels and the whole army game changes.
We'll have a rather nice window of opportunity in another few levels where we may have a serious superiority to exploit in the European theater...
I'm thinking it's time to throw some lines out and see if we can't bag Aragon and Castille while we have it.
Maybe even France too...

Other than the occasional conversion, such as Oberpfalz realizing PRO isn't all it was cracked up to be, most of my time is buildings and Rebs.
There's alot of infrastructure to build up in all those sand pits.

Come August, another election... You know I got rid of Borrow me...

Our new man...?

Not bad. Naturally you'd like his general stats to be higher, but honestly he'll probably not see military service.
With ADM and DIP like that, I'll want this one alive...

As he arrives, the slider move pops.
From here to the end of the year we get one revolt, in Girona of all places, birthplace of our REFormed movement.

All in all a decent round. Satisfying enough to call it a success.

We are now poised to adopt REFormed should we choose.
We have finally linked up all our Med holdings, allowing an army to walk all the way around if they so chose.
We have just enough time to establish the religious hierarchy before our Land advantage fully develops.

I'd say we have the perfect time to finalize the name and the Flag and change to whatever nation we choose to be at this time also.

What a great time to be Milan...!

T

 

[unmerged(69928)]

sounds like Milan's navy may get to run its paces against Great Britain.

and thanks for the welcome. i will always give my 2 cents; wheither or not any one lists or agrees

The first challenge is to build up Milan's Navy, per our new mission.
It mandates we have as many Big Ships as the GB...
That should go a long ways towards carrying the day for us.
IF I can get a good admiral. You know they will have one.

Quite welcome. And good that you'll stand your ground as a Knight should.

T

 

[unmerged(69928)]

I'm off to work for awhile, and then have a social engagement.

I will try to have The State of the Republic Address up for this evening, though it may be the wee hours of Sunday AM that see it's arrival.

Feel free to start Open Mic early, as the decisions are all out there already and the foundation is laid in the updates.

T

 

[Malurous]

Nice progress, it was a nice break to catch Dulkadir as a bonus in the North African war.

Now correct me if I'm wrong, but what you say about Constables doesn't make sense to me:

The honor of the first constable goes to Cyprus, though without a core it will do little.

Constables are very good even in coreless provinces because the effect is an addition, not a multiplication: without a Constable, a core province gets 100 % direct tax while a coreless one gets 10 %. With a Constable, a core province gets 150 % (100 % + 50 %) and a coreless gets 60 % (10 % + 50 %). So having a core has no direct effect on the money you get out of a Constable. This is the reason why conquest is never limited by cash anymore after Constables - the new provinces start paying well immediately.

I really have to struggle to hold back throwing these in every province immediately.
They would rocket our income big time...

Constables affect direct tax (yearly census tax) but do nothing to base tax values. So I don't think holding back there does anything at all to the Greek acceptance movement.

 

[quicksabre]

hi all, sorry I missed the debate about my own proposition... my season has started in earnest now and I probably will not be able to comment much on weekends (and sometimes other times) anymore. I have read the updates and debates, I will cast a vote for a REFormed Milania, ruler of the Mediterranean and voice of the divine.

 

[draik]

Exceptional! (I need to keep finding alternate superlatives to use when I post, your success is the regular)

I really like those extra REF provinces that have popped, not to mention the consolidation of our position in the Middle East has been awesome. Oh, and Naples too! It's a bumper update for sure!

For the record: go reformed, change name to Millenial Empire. Because we're like nuclear waste - we last for a very, very long time.

 

[Beamed]

Milan didn't start the fire

That flame's been burnin' since the world's been turnin'.

 

[OrangeYoshi]

Milan didn't start the fire

That flame's been burnin' since the world's been turnin'.

Miland didn't start the fire.

Though it didn't light it, it tried to fight it.




Now I need to read the updates.

 

[unmerged(58610)]

Milan is now the greatest Catholic power. Control of the Curia allows you to burn off BB. You really should go for the Defender of the Faith, if you have the money. Converting the PRO and muslim provinces is the way to go.

War with PRO Castille to bring in PRO provinces to convert and force Castille back to the Catholic faith. Drag in provinces from REF Aragon and Switzerland and force them back. You'll need the med provinces from Catholic Granada, but that could wait until Milan has gone REF in around 20 years time.

You need to take the islands of the med. You need Tunisia and Tripoi. Dulkadir would be great to take,too. Heavy on the BB. You need the Curia.I'm quite surethe opportunity to grab the Ottoman's last province will arise.

War with France to further break it up is always good sport .

 

[Enewald]

Now go for REF and adapt Deus Vult!

 

[Ahriman]

I've spent the last few days burning the candle at both ends and the middle with no time to post. You've made great progress.

Sad that Denmark put an end to the Sweedish economic miracle

I'm relieved that the election of the Anti-christ didn't lead to the end of the world, except for various muslim countries

Peace deals, land connection, new leader, yay!

Will comment on the SotR when you post, hopefully I'll be capable of a coherent sentence by then.

 

[unmerged(69928)]

† Sir Malurous †
I wanted that connection. It'll be handy in case the Navy comes up short...

Alas, I believe you are correct on constables. As I have said before, my memory is is like a Steel Sieve... Tough as nails but porous as all heck. A function of my condition that shall not improve... Good thing I have guys around that actually know stuff... Also good to know I didn't screw myself...

I do know they have nothing to do with base tax. That I remember. The only way (I believe) they help is simply the bottom line yearly tax for the province, which if built in all Greek one's should help to boost it some.

To be honest, I don't think Greek has a shot, even with all cores at this point. We simply make too much. Cosmo might have a shot, but that's another thing all together.

† Sir quicksabre †
Alas, another Knight gone. My heart fades with each one that goes their way. Pretty soon I'll be writing for me and the dog... I do hope you can make it for breakfast once in awhile... I wish you all the best should you be unable to continue bestowing your comments upon us.

† Sir draik †
It's easy to look good when you pick your battles... Once all the religious turmoil settles, I think we'll see a little more in the way trying NOT to pick battles as opposed to having the luxury of initiating conflicts...

I was happy to have Naples done, and the land bridge was important. I kind of "encouraged" REF by removing PRO provinces. It has a short fire time, and the longer you go as Cathy, and the longer PRO has been around, the more REF will pop...

I believe I have set my mind on the name I'd like. It's in the SoftR which will get posted after this, so I'll leave it alone til after that's posted.

† Sir Beamed †

Billy Joel is one of the surest, most painful ways to punish me. If you truly hate me and wish to see me cry, keep referencing him. He had one good song from one good album, then got a swollen head and made trash a career. I can't stand the... "man"...

*shudder*

So how's things otherwise...?

† Sir OrangeYoshi †

Who's Miland...? I can picture it now. The hospital is busy, nurses run to and fro. The shot is from the upper corner of a hallway, off one of those round mirrors... In the background you here..."Paging Dr. Yoshi..."

Why not...? You're a smart guy. You can do Appatizerectomies and Rindoplasties and stuff. And make da monies...

And yes. You need to read the updates. Please. Somebody please read the update. Anybody...?

OK I'm back.

WTH? Who typed all this carp...?

Chief Ragusa
I like where you're coming from here. I had a similar frame of mind, especially with Castille and Aragon. I need to take Aragon before converting so I can get the provinces on BB sale. I can also get a discount on PROvinces until 1650. Might even swap out an NI to further take advantage. Not to mention our temporary Tech Advantage. It's going to hit at the perfect time...

Granada should wait until I am no longer Cathy, unless they continue to let their provinces change and adopt another calling. The Islands, the OPM's and the Otts will all have to be opportunity knocks. I can't afford the big BB hits with so much hanging out there to be taken at much more reasonable rates...

And I do believe a French Event is on the horizon. They're getting big and cocky again. It's only a matter of time before they run out of snacks and need a good meal.

† Sir Enewald †
Actually, I'm better served staying Cathy for a time, as most of my big targets are not any longer. I'd do myself a huge dis-service by going to their religious bias before taking them down... We will be taking them down though. I know you're waiting expectantly for the wars.

Aragon first, to draw in Castille more than likely. It all depends on who GB is backing. (I'll go the other way...)

† Sir Ahriman †
So have we all from the sound of it. I had a half day yesterday instead of a day off, and was in bed by 7pm... Weird day all around.

I am sad to see Sweden go, but we have a few contenders for the runner up position... The AC scared me. I almost wanted to reload just to see if I could get anything but him. At least he went away fairly quickly...

I hope you will be able to post a coherent sentence too. As long as it's not something like 7 to 9 for involuntary manslaughter or something...

Anyways... State of the Republic is ready to go.

Be posting it in 3...2...1...